Saturday, March 22, 2008

SI opens its vaults

Sports Illustrated has recently opened up its vault of articles! You can look at literally every article they've ever published - now for free. It's an incredible resource - you can trace the history of so many subjects, or reread favorite articles from the past.

Which leads me to this: one of my all-time favorite columns written by Peter Gammons after the 1986 World Series. It's entitled "Living and Dying With The Woe Sox." It was one of the first articles that gave him national exposure, introduced the rest of the US to his brilliance. I carried a tattered copy of this article with me for years - pasted copies in my scrapbooks and journals, even laminated one. I nearly memorized it. It so perfectly summarized how I felt after that Series. Some of my favorite lines:

I told a friend. "But before we could find out what it feels like to win, we have to be made to suffer one last, excruciating time."...

How will it feel? For years we had asked ourselves, "How will it feel if the Red Sox ever win?" ... How, in God's name, will it feel?

Well, it took another 18 years for us to find out. How did it feel? As I lay on the floor on that incredible night in October 2004, sobbing with relief and excitement, I remember thinking about that line. How did it feel? Damn good.